Cognizant’s UK revenues set to fall short of targets

Revenues grew by four percent year-on-year last quarter

Cognizant’s second quarter results indicate that its UK business is likely to fall short of headline revenue targets of 20 percent over the second half of the year.

The outsourcer reported UK revenues of £117 million year-on-year last quarter, which is up four percent.

However, Anthony Miller, managing partner at analyst firm TechMarketView, said that “short of a miracle”, the UK business is going to miss group targets “by a mile”.

He said: “In order to show 20 percent growth over the year, Cognizant UK will need to generate over 30 percent more revenues in H2 than in H1, something it last did (and maybe only ever did) in 2010, and that was on the back of a strong H1.

“However, if Cognizant’s UK revenues only grow in line with management’s implied guidance for the rest of the year, then they’ll end up about eight percent higher in 2012, than in 2011, in stark contrast to the 21 increase the prior year.”

Cognizant’s worldwide revenues performed better, with 21 percent year-on-year growth in the second quarter to £1.15 billion. This is almost five percent higher quarter-on-quarter.

Gordon Coburn, Cognizant president, said that the economic downturn was driving business for the company.

“Cognizant once again delivered industry leading growth despite a challenging macro-economic environment,” said Coburn.

He added: “This market downturn, as with those before, is serving as a catalyst for clients to embrace a broader range of our services. Clients view us as a strong partner to achieve operational improvements in efficiency and effectiveness while simultaneously innovating for the future.”

It was revealed last month that Royal Philips Electronics struck a deal with Cognizant as a strategic partner to help rationalise its IT infrastructure. It will supply the manufacturing giant with a range of consulting and application services to consolidate systems to a managed service that supports multiple business units.